Communication 1: Thursday, July 27, 2017 | 4 p.m.

This is Communication #1 for the Island-wide power outage released at 4 p.m., Thursday, July 27.

This afternoon on Hatteras Island, we are enjoying beautiful beach weather with sunny skies and temperatures in the 80s and a relaxing breeze of 4 mph. Indoors, however, power is currently down for all facilities without generators on all of Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands. Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative (CHEC) is working diligently to restore power and provide temporary generator power in the meantime. According to a recent update from CHEC:

PCL Construction, the company constructing the new Bonner Bridge, has informed CHEC that they drove a steel casing into the underground transmission cable that runs between the south end of the Bonner Bridge and the overhead riser pole, causing the current transmission outage.

CHEC is working to assess the extent of the damage and plan for the repair. Assuming that the cooperative has the materials on hand, repairs could take several days to complete. If materials are not available locally, repairs could take weeks.

CHEC is currently providing temporary power to Buxton, Frisco and part of Hatteras Village via the diesel generating plant. The cooperative is bringing in additional portable generators to supplement the diesel plant. These generators will begin to arrive tonight. Once the generators are online, the cooperative will initiate rolling blackouts.

This will only be possible if load is at minimal levels and everyone is conserving. To minimize load, CHEC is asking residents and visitors to please TURN OFF AC units and minimize other electrical usage.

Additional notification from Dare County:

Due to the power outage, the Dare County Water Department has issued a water conservation alert for Hatteras Island customers. Residents and visitors are asked to take special measures to conserve water as much as possible because water production capacity is diminished due to the power outage. There are no concerns about the quality of water being provided - it is safe to drink.

To reduce fire risk during a power outage, use flashlights or battery-operated lanterns instead of candles. Remember that portable generators should only be used outdoors.

At this time, we are waiting on updates from CHEC and Dare County officials, and we will communicate all new information to Guests as quickly as possible. Our next scheduled update will be at 10 a.m. tomorrow, July 28, unless additional information is received earlier.